


Yuletide

by Lauralot



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christianity, Christmas, Cross-cultural, Cultural Differences, Gen, Odin's drunken misadventures, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 20:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5512832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lauralot/pseuds/Lauralot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his time as the Winter Soldier,  Bucky doesn't remember much about Christmas.  Luckily, Thor is around to explain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yuletide

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a time, I saw a post on Tumblr (which I can't seem to track down now) pointing out that Loki and Thor probably know the origins of Christmas better than most humans. And so this idea was born.

“What ails you, dear one?” Thor asked.

Bucky Barnes walked at his side, his breaths visible in the crisp air. Thor had requested his company on a walk; the man had looked distraught at the Avengers’ Tower and besides, Lady Pepper seemed most overwhelmed preparing for the holiday celebrations. Thor thought it best that they give her space rather than crowding the common areas.

“It’s Christmas,” Bucky said.

Most Midgardians spoke those words with an air of excitement or stress. Bucky sounded as if they pained him.

“And this troubles you?” Thor asked.

Bucky sighed. He looked older as he did, though still so young. All Midgardians were children, relatively, no matter how lined their faces. “Steve’s so excited that I’m here,” he said lowly, although Steve was still back at the tower and could not hear then. “He’s so happy that we can spend Christmas together like we used to. But I don’t _remember_ those days. I hardly even know what this holiday _is_. I didn’t need to know when I was the Soldier.”

“Do not fret, my friend.” Thor turned a corner, resting his arm across Bucky’s shoulders. “I will tell you all you need know.”

“You will?” Bucky frowned.

“I have lived for over a thousand years,” Thor said. “I can tell you the history of Christmas.”

Bucky did not argue, although he still looked cautious.

“It is a celebration of the winter solstice,” Thor began. “There is much drinking and singing and a number of traditions.”

Bucky frowned again, brows drawing together. “I thought Christmas was about God?”

“Those of your faith made it a celebration of your god as their influence spread. Before that, it was called Yule and the Midgardians celebrated my people.”

Were it not for Thor’s guiding hand, Bucky would have stopped walking in the middle of the crossroads. “Christmas is about you?”

“Not me specifically,” Thor explained. “Though the goats that Midgardians set out in the winter do represent those that pull my chariot.”

“I haven’t seen any goats.”

Then Thor was frowning. “Perhaps that is not a tradition in your country. A pity.” He shook his head. “You see, the Midgardians did not understand the seasons. They feared that winter could mean the loss of the sun entirely, and so begged our favor to win it back. Each year, a boar was sacrificed to Frey, an Asgardian, to ensure that the next year’s crops would be successful. This is why Lady Pepper is baking a ham.”

“And the trees?” Bucky asked.

“Trees are most important throughout the realms, my friend. Our worlds are contained within the branches of Yggdrasil. The Midgardians once understood the significance of trees, and worshipped the oak tree, the symbol of my father Odin. But in the winter, the leaves of the oak withered and died, so the people turned to the evergreen, with its power to last through the frosts and cold. This is also the purpose of the Yule log: a piece of oak carved with runes to protect against evil.”

Bucky was silent for a moment. Finally, he said, “Someone talked about the evergreen being eternal once. Maybe a teacher, or a priest.”

“Your cultures have so much in common,” Thor said. More than they could ever imagine, according to Heimdall. “Ideas never truly die in this world. They are simply repurposed.”

“What are those plants Tony’s been hanging up?”

“Mistletoe. It comes from a legend involving my brother.” Thor tried not to let pain show on his face when he spoke of Loki. “The Midgardians say that Loki killed Baldur with an arrow fashioned from mistletoe, only for the plant to revive him once Frigga, my mother, cried in such grief that the berries turned from red to white.”

“So it’s a symbol of resurrection,” Bucky said. “But why is Tony trying to get everyone to kiss him, then?”

“Because Tony is a strange man.”

Bucky snorted, and they walked in silence for several minutes more. Thor was about to suggest that they return home when Bucky spoke again. “Thor?”

“Yes, dear one?”

“All those decorations and ads and stuff with the guy in the red suit. With the beard, you know? I thought he was supposed to be some sort of saint, and maybe he is. But...is that your dad?”

Thor was the one laughing then. “I shall have to tell him you asked.”

“But is he?”

“It is not a story any of us are to repeat,” Thor said, and he stayed silent despite Bucky’s pleading all the way back to the tower.


End file.
